


Dreams and Prophecies

by a_wordsmith_and_dreamer



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Angst, Apocalypse, Gen, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 15:18:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13033929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_wordsmith_and_dreamer/pseuds/a_wordsmith_and_dreamer
Summary: Set between season 3 and season 4. Buffy and Giles left Sunnydale to deal with a demonic crises elsewhere. The further they get Buffy's dreams get more and more horrifying. And they might be prophetic.





	Dreams and Prophecies

**Bad Dreams**

Buffy ran through a dark alley, hunted by rattling breathing noises. She bloody hated running away but how do you fight a living (or undead or whatever-status-in-between) cloud of darkness? Nothing to punch or stake, only all-consuming nothing.

With a bang the street light in front of her exploded and shards of glass rained down on her. Buffy shrieked in surprise, giving the freezing demon-cloud access. It crawled inside her mouth and filled her throat, choking her. Her eyes went blind, ears filled with noise as if she was drowning.

 

Buffy awoke with a start, bumping her legs in that dark, confined space she lay in. Without any idea how she got there or where "there" was she froze, taking in all fragments her senses would gather. Her surroundings were cool apart from the blanket underneath her. Someone nearby inhaled sharply, making her jump. Slowly her eyes adjusted to reveal Giles sleeping in driver’s seat.

Eventually Buffy’s memories floated back, calming her thumping heartbeat. They were roaming the desert searching for a particularly malicious demon with just another apocalypse in tow. At first Buffy had been constantly complaining about Giles’ urge to investigate on nothing more than a side note in one of the Watcher Diaries and a weird article in the papers. After all he had first mentioned it only a few days after they fought a giant snake-demon formerly known as Mayor Richard Wilkins III. God, her life was strange.

Since they left Sunnydale almost two and a half weeks ago they’d come across three recently abandoned cars and a ravaged village with no trace of any residents but clear signs their collective disappearing dated back less than a day. Buffy yet had to excuse for some biting comments and was secretly grateful Giles spared her the I-told-you-so. Her former Watcher stirred but didn’t wake. Apparently she wasn’t the only one having bad dreams. Quietly Buffy left the car, blanket tight around her shoulders against the cold. Myriads of stars flickered calmly above her – more than she had ever seen in her life. Alone with the sound of her breathing Buffy wondered if this was peace.

A horrible noise shattered her wellbeing. With a cartwheel over the car top she was at driver’s door. "Giles!" He kept lashing out, bumping against the car’s interior. Terrified, she shook him violently. "Wake up! ... Wake! Up!"

She hadn’t meant to hit him that hard. His head crashed against the headrest then he lay still, completely limp.

"Giles?" Her voice trembled - as did her hand when she reached for his pulse. The soft sound as he finally inhaled almost made her laugh with relief. Eventually he opened his eyes, looking utterly baffled.

"Buffy?" Blindly he fumbled for his glasses, finding them on the dash board. "Wh- what happened?" He placed a hand on her shoulder as if she was the one to be worried about.

"Giles, you scared me!" He was back to puzzlement. "You were all lashing our and… and you face: all pain as if you were tortured." He flinched ever so slightly and suddenly she knew exactly what he had dreamed of.

"I’m sorry, Buffy. It wasn’t my intent to frighten you. What’s the time?" He asked to by-pass the moment's awkwardness - only succeeding in pointing out its awkwardness. He groaned while rubbing his neck with a pained expression. Damn, that punch had been far too strong. Yes, she had panicked but that didn’t justify her action.

Buffy blushed, hoping he didn’t notice at the low light. She checked her watch hastily. The sun would come up in about an hour and a half. "Fancy an early breakfast?"

* * *

 

They sat in the open car trunk, wrapped in blankets and their legs dangling outside. Between them lied several cooling bags whereas all jerry cans had been removed temporarily and lined up next to the car. Giles mutely made sandwiches, handing most of them to Buffy. Unsure how to approach him Buffy settled with side glances. She was truly concerned and not as a result of her way of waking him.

He was tense and reticent – had been since they left Sunnydale – but the single most obvious change was the beard. Buffy yet had to reconcile with it, always looking twice if he still wore the same face underneath. She knew as a matter of fact that he had taken along a shaver but had only used it once. As if he simply didn’t care any more.

When the sun finally hit their faces Giles had dozed off. As quiet as possible Buffy packed in their remaining provisions and went for a run. On of the benefits of being the Slayer: She hardly ever broke sweat.

The cooling rush of air swept away all worries while Buffy ran up a hill. On the top she surveyed the surrounding desert. On the surface this seemed like the world’s fines place: No one to be rescued and nothing to rescue someone from. And there they were again: Stupid thoughts to ruin moment’s peace. Maybe she should ask Willow about a portable pocket-storm to sweep them away whenever needed.

When she approached the car more than an hour later Giles still sat in the car trunk: singing.

       " _…take me home_

_To the place I belong_

_West Virginia, mountain mamma_

_Take me home, country road_ "

"I thought we were heading for Arizona."

Startled Giles jumped to his feet, his head colliding hard with the trunk lid. He cursed most un-Giles-ish. "For god’s sake, Buffy!" She grinned innocently, sobering quickly given the pain on his face. This really wasn’t going to be his day.

"Maybe I should drive today."

"I was under the impression you failed your driving test."

"Where better to practise than in a deserted desert? Besides, you look like your head has been split."

"And who’s fault is that?" he growled, nonetheless offering her the keys.

 

In the afternoon they reached a small town which was very much alive. The roadways were full of parked motorbikes. "Seems to be some sort of event. What you think, could we sleep in beds tonight?"

"If there are any free rooms in this town I see no reason why not."

Finding a bed was indeed a challenge. Luckily the fourth motel had one last free double room. "We take it", Buffy declared before Giles could voice any objections. Grabbing the keys the Slayer maneuvered her former Watcher out and up the stairs to their room.

"I’m first to shower", she clarified, already in the bathroom. Slamming the door she undressed at a record time, excited as a kid in a swimming pool. Cool water pattered down on her, washing away sand and vampire dust alike while massaging her convulsed muscles. In short: It was heavenly.

After almost an hour she finally switched off the water and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel – suddenly blushing. In her haste she’d forgotten to gather clean clothes. Now, that was embarrassing. "Uhm, Giles…?" she called through the door. No answer. "I… I have kind of a problem. No rushing-in-to-the-rescue kind of problem, but still... Giles, are you there?" Shyly she opened the bathroom door a gap wide and peered into the deserted motel room.

Right in front of the door lay some fresh clothes for her and she found a note on the nightstand. According to it, Giles had left in hope of finding a laundry shop, which was an issue long overdue.

Buffy dressed, snuggled up in one of the blankets and started flipping channels. If time only could be killed as easily as demons.

Giles returned half an hour later with a morose mien. He threw the sports bag which contained their clothing on the bed and headed straight for the bathroom. "No luck?" Buffy presumed not at all enthusiastic. "Depends on what you talking about. I did the washing, if that’s you worry about."

"So what’s eating you?"

He avoided answering by closing the door a tad too snappy. Sighing Buffy fell back against the pillow suddenly not even remotely interested in the talent show on the screen. Wondering how to kill time her eyes flickered through the spare room lingering on the phone. She had promised Willow to check in whenever possible. And yet…

The phone rang seven times before it was picked up.

"Willow Rosenberg."

The cheerful tone lifted Buffy’s mood immediately, easing a tension Buffy hadn’t been aware of. "It’s me."

"Buffy? Oh, my god, how are you? We were worried! I said to Oz, I said: What if they need some background info and can’t reach us because the demon cuts off all lines and we wouldn’t know and couldn’t come to help because we don’t know their exact location and –-"

"Willow, we’re okay. You hear me: It’s alright." Buffy assured and stopped her babbling friend. "No line-cutting demons around. Speaking of demons: How are you guys holding up?"

"Oh, we’re fine. Last nights patrol Xander staked a vampire after Oz distracted her by dropping a flower tub on her head. You should have seen us. Give us one more month and we’ll really have the hang of it."

"I hope we’ll be back by then. In the meanwhile be careful. Don’t wanna have to slay you guys because you’ve been too reckless."

"Don’t worry, I’m not into leather."

"Pleased to hear that."

There was a short pause while both of them worked out what to say next.

"How’s Giles?"

"I don’t know", Buffy said honestly, feeling her inner tension building up again. She toyed with the idea of telling Willow about his strange behaviour lately: his gruff and tense temper. "He sang this morning."

"He did what?"

"Yeah, my reaction exactly. D’you think he’s possessed?"

Willow let out a chuckle. "I don’t know. You might be over-reacting, Buffy."

"He grew a beard. And he didn’t wear anything tweet-y in weeks."

"Sounds serious. I’ll check the books", Willow somehow managed while having the giggles.

At that very moment the bathroom door opened. Seeing Giles, Buffy had to bite back a laughter. "All-clear, Will. He’s shaven."

Willow, now gasping for air while laughing, failed to respond.

"Okay, giggle-queen, you calm down. I’ll call again later", Buffy decided and hung up. "That was Willow", she explained unnecessarily.

Giles nodded. "How is she?"

"Willow? She’s fine. She and Oz and Xander: all fine."

"And your mum?"

"Haven’t had the time to phone her yet." In truth she wasn’t particularly fond of just another bout of the same never-changing argument. Four times she’d tried and four times hung up very upset.

"We should go and find something to eat", Giles offered.

* * *

 

Finding a free table was even harder than finding a room. At the end they settled for a diner where they only served coffee and cake.

"That was awful", Buffy summed up the evening as she and Giles left.

"I'm afaid I have to agree. Do you want to patrol or shall we return to the motel?"

"Giles, no vampire with a whiff of self esteem would spend eternity in a backwater like--" A scream undercut her statement. "…this. Oh, really?"

Giles dipped his head to hide a smile before they ran towards an anew scream.

Charging in the alleyway where the screams originated the Slayer found herself in front of some bikers, busy with beating someone to a pulp. "Six versus one. I wonder who’s gonna win." Heads turned revealing demonic mugs. "Geez, no wonder you’re in a bad mood. If I had to wear your faces…"

One of the demon bikers growled at her before dashing forward and running directly against Buffy’s waiting fist. He collapsed there and then just as Giles arrived next to his former charge. "I assume he’s…"

"Part of a group? Yep. Which side do you want to cover?"

"I’ll take the left." He pulled a shortsword from under his jacket and readied himself as the remaining demons stormed towards them.

"Why don’t I have one of those?"

"Can we debate that _after_ we finished here? Thank you very much."

The fight didn’t last long. Slayed demon bodies decorated the alley in a very un-ceremonial fashion. Buffy nudged one with her foot. "I thought they’d be tougher. Seriously, how am I supposed to stay in shape without real challenges?"

"A true tragedy", Giles scoffed. He stepped over one of the bodies to help the bikers’ victim up. "Are you alright?"

The young man nodded franticly, his eyes sticking on his attackers. "What…?"

"Nothing you have to worry about any longer. Shall we escort you home?"

"I… I think I’ll be fine." He hoppled out of the alley and turned to his saviors. "Bye." Than he hoppled out of sight.

"Bye", echoed Buffy cheerfully before facing her former Watcher. "So, why are you the one with the cool weapons?"

* * *

"BUFFY!" Darkness burst out of his chest like a cloudy lance. His entire body spasmed – than suddenly going limp. Buffy watched in horror, knowing he was dead before he hit ground.

Against her will Buffy’s legs turned and ran. She sprinted along a dark alley, feeling an icy breath stroking her neck and weakening her legs. Her mind playing her Watcher’s body hitting the ground in a loop. This was wrong. This was so wrong. With a bang the street light in front of her exploded, shards of glass raining down on her. Buffy shrieked, giving the freezing demon-cloud access. It crawled inside her mouth, choking her as her eyes went blind.

 

She woke to the far-away sound of her name. A firm hand lay on her shoulder, counteracting her body’s shaking. "Buffy, do you hear me?" The sound of his voice brought near tears. _He’s alive. It’s just been a dream. He’s alive. He’s alive._ Even with that knowledge Buffy feared to open her eyes. She did eventually, the image of his limp body overlapping with his worried face. He kneeled next to her bedside, stern eyes roaming her face for clues.

Overwhelmed Buffy launched herself on Giles and wrapped her slayer-strong arms around his warm body. "Promise me you’ll never die."

"Buffy…" Giles panted. "I really need… breathe."

She loosened her grip, still clinging to him as for dear life.

"Buffy, I think --"

"Never! Never leave me."

"Well, I guess then we should find a vampire and an Orb of Thesulah."

She punched his arm. "Ouch."

"That’s NOT funny!"

He laid both hands on her shoulders. They both know he hadn’t the physical strength to push her away unless she allowed it. It was an effort to convince herself he wouldn’t vanish into thin air if she released him. Finally she followed his lead. With his kind eyes and pursing his lips in a small, understanding smile he finally looked like himself again. "Do you want me to lie?"

"Please", asked Buffy with a small voice.

"Well, then…" She needed a moment to remember they’d been there before. In a graveyard. The words hadn’t mattered back then, not really. Important had been his sheer willingness no say anything. And here he was again, easing terrors with nothing but words.

She wouldn’t be able to repeat his words if her life depended on it. However, for a blessing moment… she believed him.

With some hesitation he agreed to her resting her head on his chest. She knew it was silly, however she also knew she wouldn’t find sleep without the steady rhythm of his heartbeat assuring her he was still alive.

**Author's Note:**

> Rating might change while I go along. Not sure how everything will play out.


End file.
